


Finding Benson's Beat Again (a kipo and the age of wonderbeasts fic)

by thirteen_beaches



Category: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Cartoon)
Genre: (sorta) - Freeform, Adventure, Again, BEFORE THE S3 TRAILER, Benroy, Canon Compliant, F/F, First Kiss, First Love, Fluff, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Kipasher, M/M, Post-Canon, and troy cant stand it, basically benson is sad, dont know how to tag, my first kipo and the age of wonderbeasts fic so, no beta we die like men, okay lets go, past season 2 definitely, pls be nice, so he enlists the help of he gang to fix this, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:40:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26030542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirteen_beaches/pseuds/thirteen_beaches
Summary: ever since scarlemagne's failed coronation, benson has been quiet, more sad. and troy can't stand seeing them that way.so the solution? turn to the friends they had made along the way and make a plan to put that rhythm back in benson's step.but they can only do it, together.
Relationships: Benson Mekler/Troy Sandoval, Benson/Troy (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts), Kipo Oak & Asher (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts), Kipo Oak/Asher Berdacs
Comments: 49
Kudos: 111





	1. 1: Lack of Groove

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this is chapter one of a short mini series in the kipo and the age of wonderbeasts universe! i fell in love with this show, and this idea came to me and i had to write it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> troy is good at noticing things. and what he's been noticing cannot be ignored any longer. so he turns to dave and the gang.

Troy was good at noticing things.

Even back in the Clover burrow, during Lio’s Science classes, while Kipo may have been the brains, Troy had the ability to notice the slightest change in values, the smallest differences in solutions. The details. But it didn’t just stop at science experiments either.

He could tell exactly the kind of mad Asher was just by noting how they stood (leaning on their left foot meant ‘they ran out of pizza’ kind of mad, whereas broad steady posture meant ‘I will spite God’ kind of mad). He could hear Dahlia sigh and realise whether she was sad over her grades, or whether she was tired from trying to climb to the crystal ceilings. He could see the disappointment in his dad’s eyes before he even revealed what Dr Emilia had done to the rest of their burrow.

But Troy noticed Benson in a different way. With other people, he would just see what jumped out at him, and not think much of it. It would just stay filed away in the back of his mind, just another irrelevant detail. But Benson? Even from the moment they had literally fallen into Troy’s life, he couldn’t help but want to commit to memory every single thing he noticed about Benson. By the time they left him, Asher and Dahlia with the Timbercats, Troy had already learnt a lot about Benson, even though their only conversations so far had been about Pierre the flea’s love for maple syrup, flapjacks, and reassurances that the Timbercats would accept them. He didn’t need much conversation to know that Benson would pull the straps of his backpack when they were nervous, accompanied with a short laugh. He learnt that when Benson would get excited over something, his eyes would light up in such a specific way, a way Troy could only describe in comparison to someone shining a flashlight on the crystal ceiling back in their old burrow. He even learnt the way Benson’s eyes crinkled in worry when Kipo wouldn’t turn back into a human in her effort to save the mutes in the arena from being turned into gold in the aftermath of Scarlemagne’s failed coronation as emperor. And how their shoulders relaxed in relief when Kipo stood in front of them, human again.

But Troy had never seen this in Benson.

After discovering that Dr Emilia was seeking to travel to more burrows to turn more humans against mutes, their group comprising of Kipo and her family, Benson, Wolf, Dave, Mandu, Asher, Dahlia, Troy and his dad collectively decided that they couldn’t stay with the Timbercats for too long. Ever since then, the group would always be on the move, mostly moving during day time, and camping out in random dilapidated buildings at night. During this time, Troy had been eager to talk to Benson, there finally being time for them to actually hold a conversation about something other than flapjacks (although, Troy wouldn’t mind talking to them about flapjacks for the rest of his life). But, something about the way Benson was holding himself held him back.

Troy had never seen Benson look so small, so tired, not even after the first time he fought off a flamingo in the backup burrow that had been destroyed. They were much quieter than usual, dragging their feet ever-so-slightly as they walked. And when they were nervous around Troy, which didn’t happen as strongly as it had the first few times before, there were no backpack straps to pull, so he settled for scrunching up the bottom of their hoodie. And every now and then, Troy saw them reach up to their ear or their pocket for something, before grasping at air, and sighing in disappointment.

It had been 2 weeks since they had left the Timbercats, and nothing had changed in Benson’s demeanour, and Troy still kept glancing over at them, wanting to ask him what was wrong, to try and get them to hold a smile for longer than just a few seconds.

“You’re always staring at him, why don’t you just go there?”

Troy yelped, jumping back slightly as Dave pulled his jeans, smirking. He was in his average age stage, luckily. If Teenage Dave had caught him staring, Troy knew he wouldn’t have heard the end of it. A couple of weeks spent with the group had taught him enough about those mood swings.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Troy said, folding their arms. Dave just stared at him, clearly unimpressed at his terrible lying. But before he could say anything, Lio called out from ahead of them, announcing that they had found a building to camp out in for the night. Behind Troy, Asher sighed, stretching backwards.

“Thank God, I was this close to no longer feeling my legs,” they said, and Dahlia groaned, punching their shoulder.

“You are so dramatic Ash,” she said, rolling her eyes as the two twins walked ahead. Kipo, who had been walking close behind her dad with Wolf, turned to say something to Benson, who just flashed a small smile and gave a short laugh. Troy looked over at them, sighing quietly, only to be pulled out of his trance by Dave coughing, trying to hide his laughter.

“We’re so not done with this conversation, pancake boy,” he said before running ahead to catch up with Benson and Wolf.

*

“Hey Troy!” Kipo said, walking up to his side of the campfire and sitting beside them, smiling in the way Kipo always did, with that whimsy for life all her hardships on the surface didn’t even begin to erase.

“Kipo!” troy exclaimed, setting down the bottle of water they were drinking from, her smile already putting him in a better mood. “How do you still have any energy left?”

“Honestly, I have no idea,” she said, staring ahead, her eyes wide. “I guess it’s the jaguar in me!”

That got the two of them laughing, and Troy sighed, looking over her shoulder to see Benson staring into the fire across from them, nodding half-heartedly to something Wolf was saying, before getting up and heading to where their sleeping bag was. Kipo narrowed her eyes at him, turning to look in the direction he was looking, her eyes going wide in realisation.

“Still think you aren’t staring, kid?” dave said from behind Troy again, and Troy yelped, jumping slightly, before groaning on seeing Dave emerge from behind. Kipo, on the other hand, was laughing loudly. The commotion managed to draw Wolf, Asher and Dahlia to the group too, and Troy wished at that moment, that any Mega mute would come in and pull him out of there so he could escape this embarrassment.

“Ooh, are we teasing Troy about his crush on Benson?” Dahlia cooed, and Troy slapped a hand over her mouth, trying to stop her from speaking. But it was too late, Kipo had heard her, and she gasped loudly.

“Wait, I knew about you guys having a date, but I didn’t know you had a crush on Benson!” she exclaimed excitedly, practically jumping in place. “This is amazing, oh my god!”

“Honestly, we all know he likes you too since he met you, so why don’t you just talk to them?” Wolf said, leaning forward. Troy coughed loudly, caught off guard by how nonchalantly Wolf had said that, though they were also smirking, clearly amused by his reaction.

“Its, it's not that easy,” Troy muttered, and Dave scoffed.

“Doesn’t sound that way,” he said, and Asher laughed, pressing a hand to their mouth to try and stay quiet for the sake of the people sleeping.

“Honestly, this discussion has made me sleepy,” Dahlia said with a loud yawn, tugging on Asher’s arm. “I’m gonna head to bed.”

“Sure it’s not cuz of the race you and Asher had over that collapsed roof?” Kipo teased, raising an eyebrow, and Asher giggled, their cheeks slightly pink at Kipo’s teasing.

“You know how me and Dahlia are, we couldn’t resist,” they said, tucking their hair behind their ear, before getting up, pulling Dahlia up. “Plus, if we stay any longer, Troy might literally combust,” they teased, and the group looked back at Troy, whose face had gone completely red as he pulled their knees to their chest.

After Dahlia and Asher had gotten into their sleeping bags (not without having a tug of war for them), Wolf, Kipo and Dave turned back to face Troy.

“What?” Troy sighed, slightly embarrassed. They scratched the back of his neck, and Dave sighed, standing on the log next to him.

“Sorry for making fun of you kid,” Dave said sheepishly, and Troy let out a short laugh, shaking his head. Dave smiled a bit at that, leaning forward. “But clearly something is stopping you from talking to Benson.”

“Yeah, like weren’t you guys talking about that flapjack date thing when we went to the Timbercats the first time?” Wolf asked, raising an eyebrow. “What happened to that?”

“I still can’t believe I missed that moment!” Kipo exclaimed, clutching her head. “How could I not be there for something as momentous as that!”

“Cuz you were busy trying to face Scarlemagne with Mega Paw there, kid,” Dave said. “I should know, I was there with you.”

“Believe me, I want to talk to them,” Troy said, sighing as he looked over at Benson sleeping. “But, they haven’t been the best lately. I can tell,” he continued sadly. The three looked at each other, even Mandu joined them at this point, squealing softly before laying in Kipo’s lap.

“What do you mean?” Wolf asked, and Troy just shrugged.

“I’m good at noticing things in people,” he said quietly. “And, I don’t know how to explain it, but Benson looks more tired, almost?” he said, gesturing with their hand. “Like they’re missing something important.”

When Troy said that, Dave sighed, nodding slowly. “I’m not surprised about that,” he muttered, leaning against the log Troy was sitting on. “Their backpack got burned up in that gold fountain Scarlemagne made.”

“Oh yeah, it had everything Benson owned!” Kipo chimed in, her eyes going wide in realisation. “It had my anchor, clothes, and his music tapes! Oh,” her voice dropped on the last word, frowning.

“Yeah, losing the music tapes and his tape recorder really got to Benson,” Wolf said quietly, petting Mandu. “I remember the first time we all were running from the Mod Frogs, on the second night Kipo came to the surface,” they mumbled, smiling to themselves as Kipo smiled too, placing her hand on Wolf’s shoulder. “Any big moment, chase or otherwise, had to be accompanied with the perfect song for Benson. I just think he really liked music.”

“Plus, music was how me and Benson first talked to each other,” Troy mused, letting out a soft laugh at the memory. Benson tripping over themselves, their tape player falling out of the backpack, right at Troy’s feet, playing the song he had loved so much. Yeah, music meant a lot to Troy too.

“It’s not just that Benson loves music,” Dave said, sighing. “They never told you about life on the surface before they met me, did they?” When everyone shook their heads, Dave stood up, looking over at Benson’s sleeping figure. “Benson’s parents were part of a burrow,” he said, and Kipo gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

“Wait, Benson had a burrow too?” she exclaimed, before being hushed by Wolf. “What happened to his parents then? The burrow?” she continued asking in a hushed tone.

“That’s the thing,” Dave said, leaning closer, everyone doing the same. “When Benson was around 7 years old, the burrow was attacked by a Mega Bunny,” he said, and Wolf gasped slightly, looking over their shoulder at Benson, who was stirring slightly. “Benson managed to get to the emergency tunnel system they had, but his parents wouldn’t be able to make it. That tape recorder with the first few tapes he owned, those were his parents’ gift to them on their 7th birthday,” Dave said quietly, and Troy held his breath, feeling heavy for Benson’s sake.

“Whoa, I had, no idea,” Kipo whispered, and Wolf nodded, looking over at Benson.

“It makes so much more sense now,” Wolf said quietly. The group sat in silence, unable to think of something to say, the weight of Dave’s story on them. For all their fun adventures on the surface, they were still living in a world filled with tragedy in every moment. It was easy to forget that, but the moments you were reminded of that reality are the toughest.

“I wish there was something we could do,” Kipo muttered, pulling her knees to her chest so she could bury her head into them. On hearing that, Troy’s eyes went wide, and he sat up.

“Maybe there is,” he said, and everyone looked up at him. “I have an idea, but I’m gonna need your help to make sure we can do it.”

“What are you thinking about?” Wolf asked, crossing their arms across their chest. Kipo looked at Troy with wide eyes, eagerly listening for his idea.

“What if we said we were going scouting for something, but we actually went to look for a new tape player and mixtapes?”

The group was silent for a bit, and Troy got worried, thinking they were going to call his idea stupid, and move on. So, he immediately began to correct himself and go back on his words. “It, it was just an idea, I know it’s probably stupid, I just wanted to help,” they mumbled, but Kipo grabbed his hands, and Troy looked up to see her beaming up at them.

“That’s an incredible idea, Troy!” she said excitedly, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “We can have our own little adventure, and we can show you more of the surface! Ooh, and we can bring Asher along too!” she continued, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she mentioned Asher.

“Damn kid, you have some great ideas,” Dave said with a smirk, standing up and crossing his arms. “But how are we gonna convince Benson that we are going on a scout _without them_ but are taking these guys with us?”

“We say that we’re showing them the ropes of surviving on the surface,” Wolf chimed in, tapping their finger on their chin. “It’s believable too. Between us, we have a mute, a person who has survived on the surface alone practically since birth, and a Mega Jaguar. Those are some pretty good teachers if you ask me,” they said, smiling, and Kipo clapped her hands excitedly.

“yay! Operation: Make Benson happy again is a go!” she cheered, before Wolf shushed her loudly, pointing over to where Benson was beginning to stir. Kipo slapped a hand over her mouth, smiling apologetically, before whispering, “It’s a go!”

Troy laughed, their awkwardness fading slightly as he held out his fist. “We can do this, right?”

Wolf smiled, holding out their fist. “Oh yeah, Benson taught me about this!”

Dave smirked, holding out his hand. “Oh yeah we do,” he said confidently.

“As long as I get to be the one to invite Asher along!!” Kipo said as she held out her fist, and Wolf rolled their eyes.

“You were the one to suggest it in the first place Kipo, you can do it,” they said, laughing lightly.

Dave laughed, looking at the group. “For Benson!”

Everyone looked at each other, before bumping their fists together. “For Benson!”

And just like that, they were about to set out on one hell of an adventure.


	2. 2: Andante

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the gang is about to set out on their 'scouting' mission, but first, benson needs to be convinced. plus, dave and troy have a 'talk' that goes as well as you'd expect.

“Scouting?” Benson asked skeptically, crossing their arms. 

“Yup,” Dave said confidently, hands on his hips. Benson narrowed his eyes, staring at him.

“For a couple of days?” 

“Uh-huh.”

“And I can’t come along while you take Troy and Asher because…?”

“Because, well, uh,” Dave began to mumble, trying to think of a reason. But before he could continue, Wolf chimed in.

“Because we need you to take Dahlia and Kipo and Troy’s dads to Ratland, to help them rebuild the place,” they said with a satisfied smirk. “You promised to help them, so you guys go ahead while we get more supplies.”

Troy silently cheered, and Asher had to hide their giggles as Benson nodded slowly, considering Wolf’s words. “Well, you’re not wrong,” they conceded, and Kipo clapped excitedly. “But you need to be careful!” he said, placing their hands on Kipo’s shoulders while looking at Dave and Wolf. “We don’t know where Dr Emilia and the other humans are, and chances are they are looking for us right now!”

“Don’t worry Benson,” Kipo said reassuringly, covering their hands with hers. “We’ll be alright out there. You take care of the people here,” she said with a smile, and Benson let out a soft laugh, their smile still not reaching their eyes. Troy sighed when he saw that, looking down at his feet.  _ Well, that’s what this adventure is for, to bring that light back. _

Dahlia walked over to Wolf, placing a hand on their shoulder with a sigh. “Take care of Asher for me, will you?” she asked. “They’re all I have right now, other than you guys.”

Wolf smiled, pulling Dahlia's hand forward to shake it. “Friends’ honour,” they replied, and Dahlia smiled, walking over to hug Asher goodbye. 

“Stay safe Ash,” she whispered, and Asher laughed, hugging their sister back. 

“You know I will,” they replied, and Dahlia pulled away, her smile morphing into a smirk.

“And make your move!” Dahlia added, winking. Asher gasped, shoving Dahlia’s shoulder as she ran away to go over and pet Mandu, laughing all the way. 

“What move are you making Asher?” Kipo asked, walking up behind them. Asher yelped, jumping up as they turned to face Kipo, their face red.

“I, uh, well so here’s the thing,” they mumbled, scratching the back of their neck as they avoided Kipo’s eye. Kipo laughed softly, placing a hand on Asher’s shoulder as she smiled warmly.

“It’s okay Ash, I’m here if you ever wanna talk about it,” she said brightly, before walking over to talk to Wolf. Asher sighed, placing a hand over their heart as they took a deep breath.  _ One day. _

Troy as busy packing a backpack with supplies for the trip, when he felt someone tapping his shoulder. 

“Yup I’m coming Dave, and I’ve packed the soda, don’t worry,” Troy said with a sigh. But he heard a soft laugh from behind him, and when he turned around, they saw Benson standing there, smiling sheepishly as they held onto their elbow. 

“Yeah, soda’s probably an absolute must if Dave’s anywhere involved,” they said with a smile, and Troy laughed, feeling their cheeks warm up even as the surprise faded away. Benson’s smile, however, faded and he sighed, almost growing smaller in front of Troy. “Are you guys really scouting, or are you up to something?” he asked, raising an eyebrow, and Troy’s eyes went wide.

“Uh, why would you think, we’d be up to something?” Troy answered awkwardly, scratching the inside of his palm as he tried to laugh the notion off. But Benson just sighed, stepping closer to Troy, an action that made Troy’s heart leap into his throat. 

“You’re not, the best liar,” he said quietly, smiling slightly, and Troy laughed, slightly embarrassed. “It’s okay, I think it’s kinda cute, how you were trying to get away with it,” they continued, scratching the back of their neck as they looked up at Troy.

“O-Oh?” Troy mumbled, gulping nervously as they tried, and failed, to meet Benson’s eyes. He was really, really trying to think of something to say, but the only thing running around his mind was  _ they think I’m cute they think I’m cute they think I’m cute. _

Benson’s eyes flew wide open, and they held out their hands, stammering nervously. “I, I mean, it’s cute, but, like, I don’t know?! I don’t wanna say I didn’t mean it cuz I did,” they said quickly, the last few words quieter. Benson crossed their arms across their chest and just sighed wistfully, looking up at troy with a shrug. “Just, be careful out there,” he settled for, reaching out to grab Troy’s hand and squeezed it comfortingly. “Dave plans usually get pretty weird, so just stay safe.”

Troy laughed, covering Benson’s hand with his own, staring intently at them. “Don’t worry, Benson. We’ll be okay,” he said, and Bensons smiled, the most genuine one Troy had seen in the past few days. 

“You better,” they said with a teasing lilt. “Cuz if I recall correctly,” they continued as they began walking away. “You still owe me a date.”

Troy’s jaw dropped, their heart racing as Benson walked away. He stood there for a while, mind reeling as he hunted for a response long after the other had left, and was only brought back to reality when Dave tugged on his jacket, smirking.

“Come on kid,” he said, and Troy looked down, holding the backpack. “It’s time to head out.”

*

It had been more than half a day since the group had set out into the wild on their hunt for music, and Troy was already exhausted. The trip was definitely going to be longer than the walk to the Timbercats all those weeks ago, not to mention, he had been talking to Benson the whole way. And talking with Benson somehow made time feel like it was flying by as effortlessly as two-headed flamingos. But now, the travelling was getting to him, and Troy was growing more and more exhausted with every step he took. Asher was walking just two steps behind him, panting slightly as they tried to catch their breath. In front of them, Dave, Kipo and Wolf were leading the way, while also having an increasingly animated discussion.

“I’m just saying!” Kipo said loudly, waving her hands wildly. “If I turned into the Mega Jaguar, we could cover a lot more ground, plus, who would dare attack a bad boy like me?”

“Yeah, I’m with the purple jaguar here,” Dave mused as they walked beside Kipo. Wolf just groaned, pinching the bridge of their nose as they shook their head.

“Look, we  ** just ** managed to get human Kipo back from the jaguar state with pure luck,” they said with a sigh. “We can’t risk you transforming and not being able to turn back! Plus, what if we aren’t actually your anchor and it was a one-off thing?!”

“Well, how will we know if we don’t try?” Kipo argued back, jumping back and turning to face Asher and Troy, who started, stopping in their path. “What do you guys think?” she asked, looking expectantly at the two of them. 

Troy looked over at Asher, who was just staring ahead at Kipo, eyes wide. He sighed, turning to look at Kipo with a shrug. “I don’t mind the walking,” he said nonchalantly. “Plus, if it means you won’t put yourself at risk, all the better.”

“Thank you! Someone with some common sense!” Wolf cheered, walking over to give Troy a fist-bump. Kipo just groaned, clutching her head with both her hands.

“Come on! I’ll be fine, I can do it!” she cried, walking over and grabbing Asher’s shoulders. “You believe in me, don’t you Asher?” 

“I believe everything you say Kipo,” Asher said with a giddy smile. However, as soon as they realised what they had said, they slapped a hand across their mouth. Kipo leaned back, eyes wide, her cheeks pink as she just blinked in surprise. Behind them, Wolf was trying their hardest to hide their laughter, and Troy was just giggling to themselves, shaking their head at Asher.

“Okay if we are done with the flirting, can we keep going?” Dave declared loudly, and Kipo turned around swiftly, glaring at Dave so much so that Wolf grabbed her elbow and dragged her ahead, almost holding her back. Asher followed soon after, face buried in their hands as they groaned loudly, probably dying of embarrassment. As Troy began to walk ahead, pulling out a water bottle, Dave appeared at their side and coughed, drawing his attention.

“So, flapjack boy,” he started, and Troy narrowed his eyes as he took a sip of water, looking down at Dave. “You like Benson, huh?”

On hearing that, Troy sputtered, covering their mouth so as to not do a spit-take. “Wh-What?!” he choked out between coughs, as Dave cackled beside him. “Not cool dude, I could’ve died! And I’d have broken a promise-” he started, before cutting short. But those words had caught Dave’s attention. 

“Wait, wait, wait. Hold up,” Dave said, stopping and facing Troy. “Broken a promise to who?” he asked, raising an eyebrow slyly. Troy stopped and faced Dave, crossing his arms as he tried to keep a straight face. 

“No one, it was a slip of tongue,” he said, trying to sound nonchalant. But Dave placed his hands on his hips and leaned in, a knowing gleam in his eyes.

“No, no, I’m pretty sure you knew what you were saying, Troy.”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Yuh uh.”

“Nuh-uh!!”

“Oh, yuh uh alright!”

“Fine!” Troy shouted exasperatedly. “It was just a one-off thing I told Benson before we left, okay?! Are you happy now?”

Dave stepped back, smiling in satisfaction as he looked up at Troy. “So, you do like him,” he said plainly, continuing ahead to catch up with the other three. Troy just sighed, hiding his face in his palms, nodding quickly. Dave just chuckled, patting his leg. “I knew it.”

“Not very subtle, am I?” Troy said morosely, and Dave scoffed.

“Yeah, the both of you are just idiotic,” Dave said flatly, and Troy looked over at him, clearly confused. But Dave moved on without explanation, saying, “You seemed to figure out pretty quickly Benson wasn’t being themselves.”

Troy just shrugged, looking ahead as he handed Dave the water bottle. “I’m just good at reading and noticing things about people, I guess,” he muttered, and Dave nodded. But Troy didn’t want to stop there.

_ What the hell, Dave had already figured that he really,  _ **_ really _ ** _ liked Benson, might as well just be completely honest.  _

“I notice Benson a bit more though,” he continued, and Dave looked up, eyebrows furrowed as they listened to Troy, who coughed slightly. “And seeing them so, quiet, it didn’t feel right. I didn’t like the fact that it felt like there was nothing I could do to make them feel better.”

“But there is something you can do,” Dave said sincerely, and Troy looked at him. “You’re doing it right now.” Dave gestured to Wolf and Asher, who were talking about something, and Kipo who was looking in the windows of shops they were passing. “It was your idea to go on the hunt for a new tape player and mixtapes for Benson. This is you trying to do something that will make them feel better,” he said, and Troy sighed, letting out a small smile. 

“I hope he likes it,” Troy whispered, and Dave sighed, smirking.

“Honestly, kid, if he wasn’t already in love with you before this, the fact that you have done this for him will definitely solidify the wedding,” he teased, and Troy’s face grew hotter than he ever knew it could, and he shoved Dave away, who was laughing uncontrollably.

“Shut up you scoundrel,” he muttered, smiling sheepishly. “Aren’t you going to give me some weird, ‘if you hurt Benson I’ll hurt you’ speech?”

Dave sighed, bumping against Troy’s leg. “No need,” he said calmly. “The fact that a burrow kid like you is crazy enough to explore the surface just to try and cheer him up again, that tells me more than enough about you.”

Troy smiled, feeling oddly comforted by Dave’s words, and he smiled softly, looking ahead as the sun was dipping below the horizon. He couldn’t hold back his gasp as the orange glow of the sun mixed in with the dark purple of night, creating a sight unlike anything he had ever read about. It didn’t feel real at all, yet there he was, cool night air blowing against his cheeks as night crept in. 

“Whoa,” Asher gasped, walking to stand next to Troy. “I’ve never had the time to appreciate the sunsets on the surface.”

“We always learnt the surface was dangerous,” Kipo said softly, standing next to Asher, who looked up shyly at Kipo. She smiled warmly, reaching out to grab Asher’s hand, the both of them looking away, their cheeks warm, but still holding onto each other. “But they never told us that, it’s more beautiful than anything we could ever dream at the same time.”

All of them stood there on that clear patch of road, looking at the horizon as the sun sank further down, drinking the last dregs of orange as stars began to dot the sky. 

“Hey guys,” Wolf called out, drawing their attention as they stood in the doorway of a store. “Check this out.”

The group filed into the medium-sized store, clearly an old supply store. The back of the store had a gaping hole in the wall, facing what was practically a jungle of vines and trees. The moonlight was streaming in through the hole, lighting the room silver. As they walked in, Asher holding the flashlight, Troy gasped, catching sight of what Wolf had been pointing at. “No way!” he gasped, running over to pick it up. “An old-age Walkman!”

“Wait,” Kipo said, walking over to take the Walkman from Troy’s hands, her smile growing wider as she turned it over in her hand. “It looks almost exactly like Benson’s older tape player!”

“We did it, guys!” Dave cheered loudly, and the entire group came together for a group hug, jumping in excitement. “Step one: complete!”

Asher was laughing, and they looked over at the shelf where Troy had taken the Walkman, and gasped, reaching forward to grab a paper bag. When they opened it, they whooped loudly, making everyone face them. 

“And we have already made a start on step 2, I think,” they said, pulling out the contents of the bag to hold up three tapes, eliciting cheers from the entire team. “Looks like these guys were a set.”

Troy took the tapes from Asher and looked over the names, reading the names of the artists. “The Derevolutions, Lushlife and Nathan Williams,” Troy read out, and Dave gasped. 

“I remember them!” he said excitedly, reaching out for the tapes, which Troy handed to him, laughing. “Yup! ‘Until the Sun Dies’ ft. Fakevinyl,” Dave said wistfully, clutching the tape with a strong sense of tenderness. “Boy, they loved this record.”

“Well, no better first tapes for us to collect!” Kipo said happily, and Dave sniffed, nodding as they put the tapes and the Walkman into the paper bag they had come from. Wolf looked out the hole and back at the group.

“Maybe we should set up camp here and have food and sleep,” they said, already setting down their backpack. “Who knows when we will find another empty building?”

The group nodded, and everyone set down their backpacks, Asher and Dave hunting around the store to see if there were a lighter, or matches to start a fire easily. Troy pulled out some of the food they had taken from the camp, and Wolf looked over it, sighing to herself. 

“We’re gonna need to get more food while we travel,” they mumbled, and Troy nodded. 

“Plus our cover was a scouting mission, we should probably do some of it as well,” he added, and Wolf smiled, nodding at them. At that moment, Dave cheered loudly, emerging from the back of the store, Asher carrying him as he held a box over his head.

“We are feasting today, gang!” he yelled as Asher set him down, unable to control their laughter. As he set down the box, Kipo walked over and pulled out a plastic cup container, gasping loudly. 

“Cup noodles!” she cheered, and Troy whooped excitedly, all while Wolf looked on in utter confusion. 

“What are cup noodles?” they asked, eyebrows furrowed, and Kipo looked over at her, shock plastered on her face. 

“Oh my god Wolf, you have to try it!” she said, smiling brightly as she grabbed the lighter Dave held out, holding it to the pile of firewood she had been gathering. “All you need is some boiling water to add to this, and you have an entire meal!”

The fire crackled on as the water boiled, and even after it had been added to everyone’s cup noodles, adding the warmth to the excited and animated conversation in the group, everyone’s laughing faces lit in an orange glow like the sunset. Troy laughed along with something Dave was narrating, and felt content.

Yeah, it had been a tiring, but a rewarding day. And there was still so much more left to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay in this chapter, but uni started so i got super busy. but here it is! chapter 2! hopefully, im able to finish chapter 3 faster. this story is gonna be longer than expected ahahahaha.  
> kudos/comments are SUPER SUPER appreciated!  
> plus FUN FACT: the songs are the actual songs from s1 ep 1 and 2 of kipo :D the last two are the ones played by Benson themselves!  
> tumblr : thirteen-beaxhes  
> twitter: ghostboyfs


	3. 3. Throwback Thursday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> heading in the opposite direction to the 'scouting mission', benson is dealing with the memories of their past. but one stray comment from dahlia sets off a chain of memories that they have been avoiding for a long, long time.

While Troy and company were venturing out into the wild, the rest of their party, consisting of Benson, Dahlia, Lio, Roberto and Mandu, were heading in the opposite direction, making their way slowly in the direction where Ratland used to be. Before Scarlemagne had destroyed it.

Honestly, Benson didn’t really remember promising Amy and Brad to rebuild Ratland, now that he thought about what Wolf had said. In fact, the last he had seen of them was when they had saved Kipo, Wolf, Dave, Mandu and them from the flamingos in their van which they had started to call ‘Vanland’. And he was pretty sure that they hadn’t mentioned any of this in that meeting, being preoccupied by trying to figure out Kipo’s Mega Mute-ness. This wasn’t to say that Benson didn’t want to _not_ rebuild Ratland, because that couldn’t be further from the truth. As they kept their eyes down, steeping carefully over overgrown vines and broken roads, Benson felt his heart twist in wistful nostalgia, thinking about how special Ratland was.

He had been there the first time way back when he was 6, when his parents snuck out of the burrow with him to give him his first real birthday celebration. He had been ready to go to sleep, mildly excited about celebrating his birthday the next day as his burrow used to: cake, a social gathering and a song. It was never too extravagant, because everyone was also preoccupied with keeping up work and functioning of their small society. However, that night, just before sleep could lull him in comfort, his parents opened his bedroom door, smiling brightly as they held out a coat for him. They had snuck through dark hallways, treating it like a game with Benson, who had never experienced anything like it before. When he stepped onto the surface for the first time, felt this heart beat so fast he thought he was going to pass out. But his mother had grabbed his hand, and had lifted his chin with her finger and smiled at him.

“Look at all those stars, Benny,” she had whispered, holding all the wonder in her words. Young Benson had taken a deep breath and had gasped aloud, all their nervousness melting away just like that. His father had laughed, picking him up and placing them on his shoulder with a laugh.

“Isn’t it spectacular, little buddy?” his father had asked, and Benson had just nodded, enraptured by the sparkling sky. And his excitement and sense of wonder and awe was only going to increase in the course of the evening.

Understandably, Benson had been exceedingly confused when his parents walked into an alley, them still riding on his dad’s shoulders. But when his father, set him down again, holding out a can of cheese, he had a smile that held secrets, like something out of a movie they had shown in the burrow once. It was a smile that meant an adventure was soon at hand.

“Now this can,” his father had begun, holding it out to Benson. “This isn’t just a plain old can of cheese, little buddy. This is a ticket to a world like no other,” he whispered, and Benson remembered hearing his mother giggle softly at it. Young Benson’s eyes went wide, and he had grabbed the can, excitedly spraying its contents onto the ground like his father had directed.

And the rest was history.

Benson sighed, feeling tears fill up as he tripped over a vine on the ground, pulling him out of his memories. But the warm memories of the first time he had stepped onto the boat that weaved through Ratland, the lights that sparkled through is mother’s eyes, the the strangled cry of surprise from his father when on the spinning teacups, and the hug at the top of the Ferris Wheel, all of them played in Benson’s mind with every step. Like reels of film that were playing over and over and over until at some point they burnt out, leaving darkness in its place. That’s how thinking about the destruction of Ratland felt to them.

These thoughts, however, came to an abrupt end, when Benson felt something solid collide with their back. He yelped, jumping forward, and turned around to find Dahlia smiling awkwardly at hem, clutching her head in her hands. Clearly, she had tripped over a stray piece of rubble and had ost balance, falling onto Benson.

“Sorry!” she squeaked out, straightening up, and Benson smiled plainly, holding up their hands.

“No no, it’s okay,” he said, shaking his head. “The surface is a serious tripping hazard so, I completely understand.” Benson continued walking ahead, Dahlia beside him. “I remember the first few weeks I landed up here, I didn’t even want to leave this abandoned store I had found. It took a lot to even try and venture far,” he said, wincing at the memory of those initial days on the surface. They didn’t really have the fondest memories of that time.

“First few days?” Dahlia asked, perplexed. At that point, Mandu walked up to them, squealing softly as he nuzzled against Dahlia’s leg, and she laughed, petting him on the head. But she looked back up at Benson, eyebrow raised. “I thought you were one of those humans that grew up on the surface, right from the start.”

“No no,” Benson said with a short laugh. “I grew up in a burrow for the first few years. I’ve been on the surface since I was 7, and I met Dave when I was maybe 8 or 9. Maybe even 10. I don’t know, honestly.”

“Oh?” Dahlia said, quite surprised. “What happened to the burrow? And you mom and dad? Surely, they wouldn’t let you live on the surface alone! I know my mom would definitely freak out if she saw me now.”

At that, Benson visibly balked, and shrank into themselves, Dahlia’s words starting a chain of memories that he had tries to push away one too many times. He took a deep, shaky breath, trying to calm his heart. Dahlia noticed Benson’s behaviour and gasped quietly, her eyes wide when she realised what impact her words had.

“Benson, I’m, I’m so so sorry,” She started to apologise, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

Benson shook his head quickly, trying to reassure her that _it’s okay, she hadn’t meant it, how could she have known?_ But he wasn’t able to make the voice come out. Mandu squealed in worry, nudging Benson’s leg, and he looked down to see Mandu gesture to a pile of flat rubble.

“Benson? Everything okay, kid?” Lio called out from up ahead, noticing how Benson and Dahlia had stopped, and the concern with which Dahlia was staring at Benson. Benson just looked up, nodding numbly, but it wasn’t convincing enough. Roberto walked up to him, gently grabbing his shoulder and holding them against him, walking him to the rubble.

“It’s okay son, I got you,” he said softly, and Benson nodded, feeling his throat choke up at the way Roberto and Lio were speaking to him, and for a while he couldn’t understand why. Until it hit him.

_It had sounded like his dad._

Guiding him to the rubble, Roberto made Benson sit down, and they finally felt the weight lift slightly, at least enough for him to choke out a few words.

“Im fine, really,” they whispered, but Lio shook his head, placing his hands on both their shoulders.

“It’s okay son,” he said calmly, smiling. “We’ll rest here for a bit, and you take time to feel better, okay?” With that, he straightened up, turning to Roberto. “Me and Roberto here will go look for some more water and some food. Dahlia, stay with Benson, okay?” Lio said, Roberto nodding along, and the two of them continued ahead.

Benson sighed, looking down at their shoes, their legs dangling off the rubble. They swung their legs back and forth in silence for a bit, and Dahlia stared at him, guilt bubbling in her. Finally, she tapped Benson’s shoulder lightly, and he looked up at her.

“Benson, I’m really sorry about what I said,” she said sheepishly, holding her shoulder. “I shouldn’t have, and-”

“Really Dahlia, it’s okay,” Benson reassured her, and Dahlia looked up at them. “It’s just, the memories of how I got to the surface are not, the best ones I have. I’ve been avoiding them for a while,” he said darkly, and Dahlia looked away.

“I get that,” she began, but before she could say anything, Benson sighed, and she looked back up at them.

“But I’m ready to face them again,” Benson said resolutely, looking and Dahlia. She smiled at him encouragingly, but narrowed her eyes.

“You’re ready to tell me?” she asked, unsure. “You don’t know me that well.”

Benson just shrugged. “Well, you don’t know me either,” he replied, and Dahlia shrugged, conceding to that point. “But here we are on a hike to do something that will take a lot of time anyway. So, might as well start.”

Dahlia smiled, nodding to tell Benson to go on. Benson smiled, sighing as he looked ahead at the overgrown roads, the tall trees, and the sky. Then, they began unpacking the memories he had locked away.

“It was a Thursday,” Benson began, feeling the dread sink in their stomach. “2 months since I had turned 7. And my parents had gifted me my first ever tape player. And god, did I love that thing. It was he one I had all this time, until Scarlemagne’s coronation,” they mused sadly, shaking their head. “Anyway, on this day, I was listening to one of the Oz the Originator albums my parents had gifted me along with it. My dad had been cooking something for lunch, and my mom was out for work. She worked as a doctor, you see?” Benson said with a quiet smile. “Around midday, my mom would come back to have lunch with us, and we would laugh, joke around for a bit. But on that Thursday, my mom didn’t come back with her usual smile and happiness.”

Dahlia shuffled forward, as Benson took a deep breath and continued, “A few minutes before she was supposed to come back, while I was listening to music, there was this loud repeated thumping sound coming from above. For a while, me and my dad thought they were doing burrow ceiling repairs, so we ignored it. A while later, we heard the door open, so I left the tape player and my two albums on my bed, and I ran out to greet her. But she wasn’t smiling, you see?” he said, a tear spilling down their cheek. “She looked like she had seen a ghost. She was so pale, she looked sick with worry. That’s when we found out that a Mega Bunny was attacking our burrow, and we had to evacuate at that very instant.”

Dahlia gasped, and Mandu squealed sadly, climbing up to rest on Benson’s lap. Benson patted Mandu’s head lightly, before looking back up. “My dad immediately ran to the safe,” he said, the day’s panic crawling up in his memory with increasing clarity. “And my mom started to grab things, and she reached out to me, asking me to leave the room with her so they could make it to the emergency bunker in time. But I didn’t go with her,” Benson said quietly, choking on their words slightly. “I ran back to my room, to grab my tape player. I didn’t think it was real yet, because they had done so many drills in the past that, I thought this was another one of those. I thought that if I took two more minutes, nothing would change.” Benson coughed slightly, feeling more tears stream down their cheeks. Dahlia wrapped an arm around their shoulder, smiling encouragingly, and Mandu looked up at them, and they felt a sense of strength, at least enough to continue.

“By the time I had found it, it was too late. We weren’t gonna make it to the bunker in time,” Benson said, sniffling. “So we had no choice but to try and make it to the surface. But the only way that wouldn’t be in the Mega Bunny’s path was through the airvents. So my mom and dad hugged me, and told me to go through the vents and they’d come right after me. But they said they needed me to go first. And I listened, climbing through them until I made it to the surface. As soon as I got there, I hid under a fallen tree, and I waited. And waited. And waited. Waited for my parents to come through the vents and cheer in happiness, and we could run off to Ratland again. But they never came.”

“Oh Benson,” Dahlia gasped, hugging them by the shoulders. Benson let out a broken laugh, smiling sadly.

“I hoped for so long after that, that I’d run into them one day, that we’d be a family again,” he said, rubbing their eyes. “But, eventually, I realised the truth. I was alone, on the surface. And my family was gone.”

“I’m so sorry Benson,” Dahlia whispered. “I couldn’t even imagine that happening, let along having to survive alone on the surface.”

“The first few years were tough,” Benson said with a shrug. “I had to scavenge food, and run away from mutes. But one day, while looking for pancake mix and other supplies, I came across this old bug. He didn’t seem like any harm, in fact, he just looked super hungry. But all I had was explosion berry soda, so I gave him that,” Benson said, laughing. “Imagine my surprise when he turned into a baby at that. Literally. That’s how I first met Dave, and ever since then, I haven’t been lonely.”

“Wowo,” Dahlia mused, smiling wistfully. “I guess so many years on the surface, you have to find your own family, huh?” she said, leaning back.

Benson smiled, nodding. “Sure, that’s what Mandu, Kipo and Wolf are to me now. So are you guys,” he added, and Dahlia turned to look at him with a smile.

“I’m starting to see you as family too, Benson,” Dahlia beamed, and Benson smiled, turning to give her a slightly awkward but well-meaning hug. “Not to mention, you might actually fit that bill cuz of Troy.”

At that, Benson jumped back, eyes wide, and Dahlia just laughed loudly, them joining in soon after. They laughed for a bit, the sun starting to make its way down the sky. By then, Lio and Roberto were also returning from their scout, having obtained chips, wafers as well as some more water.

“I hope those guys are doing okay,” Dahlia said quietly, and Benson sighed, nodding along.

“I wonder, what are they up to?” he asked, looking out at the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> benson backstory? BENSON BACKSTORY  
> sorry this chapter doesn't have much going on, but i really wanted to take some time to flesh out benson's character because we don't know much about him AT ALL! so here's my take on his past!  
> i hope you guys are enjoying this fic as much as i am, it may go longer than intended tho so omg
> 
> COMMENTS/KUDOS SUPER APPRECIATED!  
> tumblr: thirteen-beaxhes  
> twitter: ghostboyfs


	4. 4. Crescendo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> as they continue on their journey, trouble finds kipo, wolf, troy, asher and dave. so when kipo makes a tough decision, it's up to them to help bring her back

Troy, Dave, Kipo, Wolf and Asher were _not_ doing okay.

The morning had started alright, with them waking up and packing up their supplies, even pocketing some water and cup noodles from the store, before continuing on their quest. Everyone was well-rested, and only Kipo and Asher looked slightly exhausted, clearly having stayed up talking about constellations and everything in between, something they had done ever since Scarlemagne’s coronation. The first night after all of that, Kipo had noticed that Asher wasn’t able to sleep well, so she woke them up and they both sat on the branch of one of the Timbercats’ trees, pointing out every constellation they could remember, with the occasional teasing, and the hand brush that made both of them look away quickly. The Lynx constellation was the one they always pointed to together, lit had almost become _their_ constellation. The previous night, however, had been significantly more awkward, Asher’s words and Dave’s teasing still playing in their minds. But when Kipo turned to ask Asher about it, they quickly turned it back to the stars, trying to keep it in the past.

With a lot of teasing and smirks, and generally high spirits, the group had set out on their way. Late into the afternoon, just after finding another tape in a run-down store close to the Las Vistas zoo ruins (‘Wild Jungle’ by Beth Yen and Thurz), they had separated to try and find rations, when the ground shook violently, causing Dave to moult into a baby, Troy to nearly fall down a rubble ravine, and Asher jumped up to a branch, rivalling Kipo’s cat tendencies.

“Uh, guys?” Kipo called out, nervous worry laced in her words as she let out a short laugh. “Was it just me or did we just have an earthquake?”

“If that was an earthquake, can I come down now?” Asher called out from the branch they had now climbed onto, and Kipo looked up at them, her nervous laugh softening into an endearing giggle.

“Yeah, also I need some formula here!” Troy called out, pulling himself up and picking up baby Dave, who was one second away from crying loudly. The group began laughing, and Kipo opened the backpack, hunting for explosion berry soda. However, their happiness was very much short-lived, when Wolf straightened up, their eyes hardening as they looked at the horizon.

“That was no earthquake,” they said, the smallest tinge of fear colouring their voice. Kipo narrowed their eyes, following Wolf’s line of sight as the ground shook once again, sending everyone off balance.

“Oh no,” she mumbled, seeing the large silhouette against the sky, growing closer and closer with every bounding jump. “MEGADOG!”

That one word was enough for everyone to look up at the 50-foot corgi that was rapidly bounding in their direction, and let out a collective scream. Wolf grabbed Kipo’s elbow, taking off in the opposite direction, and in turn, she grabbed Asher’s shoulder. Troy grabbed Dave’s arm and began running, who was complaining the entire time anyway. Teenagers.

“Dude, let go of me, I’m not a baby,” Teenage Dave drawled, but even he began to take off faster, and the group sprinted towards the nearest shelter of trees to climb and hide in somehow. But, unfortunately for them, the corgi was only gaining on them, even with the slim headstart they had.

“We’re not gonna make it!” Troy yelled, and Wolf shook their head, turning to look back at them.

“We have to!” they yelled back, and Kipo looked over at Asher, who was panting, constantly looking behind them.

“Ash?” Kipo yelled, and Asher looked forward at them, smiling even though they were clearly panicking.

“Yeah Kipo?” they yelled back, voice hoarse. Kipo gulped, about to say something to them, their eyes crinkling, when there was a loud cry from next to them. Kipo turned around to see Wolf on the ground, and Troy holding their hands, trying to pull them from some fallen rubble. Kipo looked closer and realised that Wolf’s leg had been caught in the rubble, and they weren’t able to move, whatever they tried.

“Wolf!” Kipo cried out, She covered her mouth with her hand, tears starting to roll down her cheek as she stepped forward, shaking. A loud bark came from above the, and everyone looked up in dismay, the Megadog impossibly close, the shadow over them.

“We’re not gonna make it, are we?” Troy said quietly, and Asher let out a small sigh, hugging Troy’s shoulder as they both looked up. Dave, who had moulted into his regular form, looked up at them, and back at Wolf, who had pulled their leg out.

“I wasn’t looking,” they muttered quietly, and Kipo looked over at them, tears still in her eyes, resolve forming behind them. “I’m sorry guys,” they whispered, looking at everyone with a sad smile.

“No,” Kipo said firmly, walking ahead of all of them, staring up at the Megadog. “We can make it, but there’s only one way.”

Wolf’s eyes went wide, and they and Dave looked at each other worriedly, realising what Kipo was saying. “Kipo, wait!” they called out, but they were a bit too late.

A loud roar and a pulse of energy sent everyone flying back, dust flying everywhere in a large cloud. Troy felt his back collide with the ground, yelping at the impact, and he could vaguely hear Wolf and Asher coughing through the dust, and Dave was pushing himself up from the ground. Troy coughed, their eyes watering from the dust, but they looked up slowly, sharing in the collective gasp of the group as they stared upwards.

It wasn’t like Kipo hadn’t become the Mega Jaguar after Scarlemagne’s coronation. She’d done it to get everyone out from the arena, and another time when they had encountered some hostile mutes, just to scare them off. And when she had transformed those two times, no one was concerned, because they believed they had cracked the code, that Kipo’s anchor was not the picture, but actually the family she had with her, now including Wolf, Benson, Dave and Mandu, and everyone else. But as the last time had proved it wasn’t as simple as that.

Kipo had confided in Wolf a couple times that every time she became the final version of her Mega Jaguar transformation, it was always a fight against the jaguar to change back. She had tried many times to try and blend those sides, to try and get them to work in harmony, but the animal wouldn’t be tamed, and it would always take every bit of her human will to pull together and transform back. And the last time she had transformed, she almost lost, almost got trapped in her mind as the jaguar roared on, and her friends and family tried to calm her down, tried to steady her, to regain that tether. Ever since then, Kipo had started to dread when she would have no choice but to become the Jaguar. And unbeknownst to her, Wolf also had this fear, this irrational fear of losing their sister to something inside of her that she had been fighting all this while to try and control. They tried to push the memories of the wolves away, always trying to rationalise that Kipo wouldn’t hurt them, Kipo wouldn’t change, Kipo would always be herself. But the fear stayed.

But now? Kipo didn’t even hesitate to transform, if it meant saving her friends. And that scared Wolf so much. Because even though the other times were hard, at least all of them were together to bring her back. Except this time, they didn’t have Benson, Mandu or Kipo’s dad with them. _So what would they do?_

There wasn’t much time for thinking, however, because the jaguar leaned down, nudging the group to climb onto her back quickly. Asher shook their head, the first to be pulled out of their stunned trance, immediately moving to get everybody on the Jaguar, tossing Dave up, followed by giving Troy a boost. Finally, they pulled Wolf up off the ground and climbed up after them, squeezing their hand with as much reassurance as they could. Wolf looked back at them, and sighed, smiling at Asher. Because Wolf saw the same level of worry and care for Kipo in their eyes. _They’d figure it out together, they’d get Kipo back._

After all of them had climbed onto her back, the jaguar turned, growling at the Mega dog, who whimpered, backing away. As soon as the 50-foot corgi had moved back considerably, it roared loudly, causing everyone to clutch their ears at the sheer volume, and took off in the direction they had been heading, running at full speed. The jaguar ran so fats that, if Dave hadn’t been holding onto Troy, who was holding onto Wolf, who, along with Asher, was grabbing for dear life to Kipo’s back, they would’ve been blown right off.

They were on the run for what may as well have been eternity, all of them clutching on with closed eyes as the wind hit their face in full force. Asher opened their eyes briefly, peeking up at the slowly darkening sky above them.

“Kipo!” Wolf yelled over the whistling wind. “You can stop now!”

And by some miracle of nature, Kipo had managed to hear them, slowing down to more of a strut before stopping completely, kneeling to let them off. Wolf and Asher smiled at each other, and Troy sighed loudly, clapping Asher’s shoulder as they hoisted Dave off his shoulders and onto the ground.

“No I’m not scared, who are you talking about? I’m a strong mute,” Dave said, still clinging onto Troy’s leg, trembling. “I’m brave!”

“Yes you are Dave, don’t worry,” Troy mused, pulling Dave of their leg with a short laugh. He turned to look at Wolf and Asher. But Wolf was staring up at Kipo, tears standing still in their eyes as the jaguar whimpered above them, shaking her head repeatedly. Asher was standing beside them, and they gasped quietly, covering their mouth with their hand.

“Why isn’t she changing back?” Troy asked, growing more worried as time went by. Wolf just shook their head, turning to look at him.

“She’s been telling me that it’s hard to turn back whenever she goes full Mega,” they whispered quietly, and everyone turned to look at them as they wiped away tears. “And we aren’t even all of us, right now. So who knows if we can act as her anchor right now?”

Dave walked over to Wolf, standing beside them as he patted their hand. Asher looked over at Troy and Wolf, before taking a deep breath.

“We won’t know if we don’t try,” they said resolutely, and they walked over to Kipo, who was still shaking her head. Asher raised their hands, waving to get the Jaguar’s attention.

“Kipo!” they called out, waving their hands vigorously, smiling when she looked at them, almost whimpering. The Jaguar leaned down, her face close to the ground, still mewling sadly, and Asher ran over, gently placing their hand on her nose, smiling comfortingly as they looked at her. “It’s okay Kipo, it’s okay,” they said softly. They leaned away to look at Kipo, looked up at the sky, the stars twinkling like when they’d shine their flashlights at the crystal ceilings in their old burrow. “Do you wanna play a game?” they asked gently, looking at the Jaguar with all the care and affection they had as they looked at the sky. “It’s our favourite,” they whispered.

The Jaguar purred, and Asher swore they saw Kipo’s excitement through those pink cat eyes, and they smiled. “Look up, Kipo,” they whispered, and the Jaguar looked up at where Asher was tracing a line. “It’s the Lynx,” they said, laughing quietly. “It’s our constellation.”

The Jaguar whimpered softly, eyes still facing the sky. Asher turned, gesturing for Wolf to come forward too. Wolf let out a gasp, smiling as they walked towards Kipo, placing a hand on her fur.

“There’s Aries, Kipo,” Wolf said, looking at the sky after sharing an encouraging look with Asher. “You said it was our sign, that day at the Newton Wolves. That’s what made us sisters.”

At that, Troy also came forward, smiling up at Kipo. “See? It’s Ursa Major! I listened when you and Asher gushed about astronomy!” he said enthusiastically, but Asher just laughed.

“That’s the Little Dipper, doofus,” they said, amused, and the Jaguar let out a sound that almost sounded like a laugh, and Asher and Wolf exchanged a smile. Dave also came forward, standing on Troy’s shoulders.

“And that there line, is Orion’s belt,” Dave proudly declared, and everyone turned to look at him, Asher the least impressed out of all of them. “What?” Dave asked, narrowing his eyes. “I know stars.”

Asher shook their head, turning back to look at Kipo, their eyes filling up with tears. “We believe in you, Kipo,” they whispered, closing their eyes and leaning their forehead against the Jaguar. “Come back to us.”

At that, there was a flurry of breeze and dust, and Asher felt the fur under her skin change into a human hand, and they opened their eyes to see Kipo, human Kipo, leaning her forehead against theirs, eyes closed. It took them a second to register what was happening, but as soon as they did, Asher’s eyes went wide in panic, and they yelped, jumping back. That caused Kipo to open her eyes, leaning back in surprise, her cheeks pink.

“Kipo!” Wolf cheered, tears streaming down their cheeks as they ran forward to hug Kipo, who cried in happiness.

“Kipo I didn’t think I’d see human you again!” Dave cried out, running over to jump into Kipo’s arms too. Troy laughed, wiping away their tears as they ran over to hug Kipo, but stopped for a second to grab Asher’s shoulders, who was standing away, cheeks flushed.

“Ash, you can’t hide it forever,” he said, and Asher sighed, rolling their eyes.

“Watch me,” they muttered, laughing slightly, watching Troy go over to hug Kipo. They looked around, and their eyes landed on an old department store, and they called out to the group. “Guys! I think I found where we are spending the night!”

*

Hours later, after finding some chips for dinner and sharing more of the soda around the group, mostly everyone had gone to sleep for the night. Asher, however, was sitting in the doorway of the store, staring up at the night sky, taking a deep breath and drinking in the night air.

“Is that seat taken?” a voice spoke from above them, and Asher looked up to see Kipo looking at them shyly, holding onto her elbow. Asher just smiled, gesturing to the space next to them. As Kipo sat down, Asher looked back out at the sky.

“Ash,” Kipo said softly, but with a nervousness Asher had never heard before, which made them turn around, their heart in their throat. Kipo was looking at the ground, playing with a leaf. “I don’t know if I would’ve been able to turn back without you, without any of you,” she whispered, and Asher sighed, wanting to reach out and push her hair behind her ear. “Thank you.”

“Aw Kipo,” they said softly, smiling gently. “You know I’d do anything for you,” they said, knowing the implications of what they had said, but something in them just didn’t want to care anymore.

Kipo sighed, looking away. “You keep saying stuff like that,” she said sadly, shrugging into themselves. “But then you either change the subject, or you pretend you never said it. It’s confusing Asher, because I want to believe when you say these things.”

Asher’s eyes went wide, and they looked ahead, their throat suddenly dry. They gulped nervously, their heart pounding in their chest. “You do?” they choked out, and Kipo looked up, meeting their eyes for the first time.

“Of course I do,” she said softly, shifting microscopically closer to them. “Asher you’re incredible. You are so cool, so the fact that you’d think that stuff about me is, beyond crazy.”

Asher let out a short laugh, and Kipo raised her eyebrow in confusion, but Asher held out their hands. “Kipo, you’re saying that?” they said incredulously, smiling brightly. “You’ve always been the coolest, I’ve been wanting to shout this stuff from the top of the crystal roofs for a while now!”

“Really?” Kipo gasped, before looking away, laughing in embarrassment. “Wow, we are idiots,” she laughed awkwardly, and Asher nodded along, shaking their head.

“We can know everything about the stars, but we are idiots otherwise,” they said, and Kipo laughed softly, the sound making their heart flutter.

Kipo chewed on her lip, debating her next move, before squeezing her eyes shut, and leaning forward, pressing a quick kiss to Asher’s cheek, before looking at them shyly, cheeks pink as she rested her head on their shoulder.

“I like being here with you Ash,” she whispered. Asher, who was struck by a trance at Kipo’s action, let out a soft giggle, scratching the back of their neck as they leaned their head against Kipo’s.

“I like being here with you too, Kipo.”

*

The next morning, everyone was spread out across the store, trying to scour for supplies to carry on with them, An early morning meeting had ended with them deciding to start back to Ratland, deciding they had been away from the rest of the group for long enough. Asher and Kipo were on opposite sides of the store, but the two of them would always meet eyes, and look away with blushing cheeks and soft giggles. Everyone else was just staring at them in amusement because even if they didn’t know what they had spent the night talking about, they got the general idea.

“So, you finally told Asher, huh?” Wolf said while hunting the shelves with Kipo. Kipo yelped, dropping the empty box she had been holding, and they looked over at Wolf with wide eyes.

“How, how did you?” she stammered, but Wolf just giggled, shaking their head.

“Come on, it’s not like you guys are being subtle about it,” they said, looking over to where Troy and Asher were talking. “I’m happy for you Kipo. You two deserve this,” they said happily.

Kipo smiled, hugging Wolf tightly. “Thanks Wolf,” she whispered, and Wolf smiled. “You’re the best sister I could ever have.”

On the other side of the store, Troy was following Asher around, still teasing them incessantly.

“Are you sure we didn’t have a bet on this?” Troy asked, and Asher groaned, kicking aside an empty tin can on the floor.

“Pretty sure we didn’t,” they muttered, turning to toss a box at Troy. “Now shut up and look for food.”

“No cuz this is monumental Ash,” they continued, and Asher groaned loudly, covering their head with a dusty cardboard box. “Didn’t think you could actually do it!”

“Leave me alone!” they yelled as they rounded the corner. Troy shook his head fondly, browsing the shelves to his right. As he scanned them, his eyes landed on a small cardboard box, less dusty than the others. Curious, he pulled it forward, opening it and gasping loudly.

“Oh my god,” he whispered, and Dave heard him, running over to their side. The sudden movement alerted Kipo, Wolf and Asher, and they all walked over to Troy.

“Troy? You good?” dave said, and Troy nodded slowly, tears forming in his eyes as he held up the two tapes he had found.

“Oz the Originator’s two albums,” he said softly, looking back down at them. “When you guys first came to the backup burrow, Benson had tripped and his tape player had fallen out. And the song that was playing was an Oz the Originator song, the only one I knew. It was the first thing we ever talked about,” he whispered, and Kipo audibly ‘aww’ed. Troy wiped the tears, putting the tapes in the backpack. “It was how we met.”

“What a perfect way to finish off this journey,” Dave said, and Wolf smiled, holding up their fist for a group fistbump.

“Let’s go back home,” they said, and everyone looked at each other, smiling.

Yeah, it was time to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KIPO SEASON 3 OCT 12 BUT ALSO FINAL SEASON :'(((((((((( IM NOT READY TO SAY GOODBYE
> 
> we are also reaching the end of this fic :((((( it's been a super fun journey, so why not have a kipasher chapter?
> 
> COMMENTS/KUDOS SUPER APPRECIATED
> 
> tumblr: thirteen-beaxhes  
> twitter: ghostboyfs


	5. 5. Outro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the adventure comes to an end, and it's time to come clean. it's time to see whether troy's plan really worked.

As it turned out, when Benson, Dahlia, Mandu, Lio and Roberto arrived, Amy and Brad were rebuilding Ratland. After the news of Scarlemagne being taken away and mutes not having a sole emperor had reached them, they had immediately set to work rebuilding the park, with the help of other mutes who also wanted to enjoy the rides and the thrill of Ratland once again. They were well into the process when the group arrived, Benson unable to hold back a nostalgic smile as he looked at the park, and their memories, slowly being built back up around him. Dahlia caught him looking around, and reached over to grab his hand, squeezing it encouragingly before looking over at Amy and Brad.

“So, this is Ratland?” she asked, looking around at the work going on. But she wasn’t seeing the half built tents and rides, or the loud bustle of construction. She was imagining it as how Benson had described the park in its prime, dazzling with lights, fountains, rides that called back to amusement parks in the Old World, and fun.

“We know it doesn’t look the best right now, but just you wait!” Amy said, and Brad pulled out a map with the words ‘THE NEWLY RENOVATED RATLAND’ plastering the top of the paper, and the rest a detailed map of a much more elaborate theme par laid out. There was the classic Ferris Wheel, rollercoaster, the spinning tea cups, and the boat ride. But now, there was also going to be a carousel, one more rollercoaster, and a go-kart track. Dahlia grabbed the map and stared at it in wonder, Benson leaning over shoulder and whistling in surprise.

“Damn, you guys are really stepping it up 10 notches,” they mused, and Brad laughed, clapping Benson’s shoulder with a smile.

“We have been given the chance to start over now!” he cheered, and Amy nodded along excitedly, taking the map back from Dahlia and rolling it up, placing it in the van. “So, why not go for gold?”

“Well then, would you like some more help?” Lio asked, pointing at the group, who all looked up excitedly. Amy and Brad looked at each other with a smile, and nodded excitedly, Amy clapping along.

“Welcome to the team, humans!” Brad cheered, gathering up the entire group into a hug, Roberto letting out a surprised ‘oof’ as Benson and Dahlia laughed, Mandu squealed excitedly, snuggling against Amy happily, and she pet him, scratching behind his ear.

“Now then,” Roberto said, looking at Amy and Brad, hands crossed. “Where should we all start?”

*

“You know, I’m starting to think maybe my cover of telling Benson and the rest to go help rebuild Ratland may not have been the best cover,” Wolf said, breaking the comfortable silence as the gang was walking back to where they had been.

“What makes you say that, little Poundcake?” Dave said, and Wolf groaned at the nickname, rolling their eyes as they shoved Dave’s shoulder. But they looked at the others, and just shrugged.

“I just realised we hadn’t seen Amy and Brad since the Chevre Sisters, so when would Benson have made promise, they said with a small smile. Kipo stopped in her tracks, letting go of Asher’s hand that she had been holding the entire time, as she turned to look at Wolf, trying to hold back their laughter.

“Wait so, the entire reasoning we gave to Benson and the others so we could have this side quest, was based on something that didn’t even happen?” Kipo wheezed out, and Troy pressed a hand to his mouth after letting out a loud snort, shaking to contain his laughter.

Wolf, who was also giggling slightly as they looked at everyone else round the, nodded slowly. “Essentially, yeah,” they said in calm, flat voice. There was silence for a moment, before all of them erupted into laughter, the hilarity of the situation sinking in.

“I can’t believe,” Troy said through laughs, having to wipe tears from his eyes. “That we actually got away with it!”

“Oh no, Benson definitely realised,” Kipo said with a giggle, holding her stomach as she leaned against Asher, her cheeks pink. “But we still managed to get away.”

The group stopped laughing, still smiling brightly and giddily, and Dave stood up, hands on his hips. “Well, whatever questions Benson has about why we left them, this will be worth it!” he declared, raising his fist.

Wolf smirked, giving Dave a fistbump as they looked at Kipo, Asher and Troy. “We should keep moving then,” they said, gesturing at the road ahead.

Kipo straightened up, taking a deep breath as she looked over at Asher, her smile softening as she held out her hand. “Come on Ash,” she said fondly, her eyes crinkling. “Lets go.”

Asher smiled giddily, lacing their fingers with Kipo’s as they started walking ahead. “Right after you, Keeps,” they said softly, their heart filling with warmth.

“Ugh, couples,” Dave groaned, but everyone knew he was happy for the two of them, the smile he was trying to hide giving it away.

Wolf laughed as Dave walked ahead, and was about to move on, but they turned to look over at Troy, who had his eyes down, holding onto his elbow. Wolf narrowed their eyes, walking back over to him, tapping his shoulder.

“You okay there, Troy?” they asked quietly, and Troy looked up, shaking his head as he put on a small smile.

“Perfect Wolf, don’t worry,” they said quickly, but Wolf just narrowed their eyes, staring at Troy.

“You’re a terrible liar,” they said plainly, and Troy sighed, looking over at them with a small smile.

“Never have been, honestly speaking,” he muttered, head hung low. “Just thinking about all of this.”

Wolf raised an eyebrow, looking ahead as they walked behind the others. “You’re worried about whether Benson will like the gift or not,” they said quietly, and Troy looked over at them with a sigh. Wolf looked up, smiling. “If not that, then whether he will forgive us all for lying to them.”

“Ding ding ding,” Troy said weakly, and Wolf let out a short laugh, shaking their head.

“Well, the explaining part we don’t know,” Wolf began, looking ahead. “But I do know, even if Lio and Roberto are angry with us, none of us would trade going on this side mission for anything. It meant something to all of us,” they said softly, smiling fondly as they saw the rest of the group ahead of them. Kipo had bent down to pick up something from the ground, showing it excitedly to Asher, who laughed quietly. Dave, who was now riding on Kipo’s shoulder, presumably said something snarky that caused Kipo to laugh and Asher to facepalm, groaning loud enough for Troy and Wolf to hear.

Troy looked at this too, smiling, feeling their heart calm a bit. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I got to know you and Dave better, we had a lot of adventures. Plus, Asher and Kipo,” he said, gesturing at the two. Wolf looked over there, giggling softly.

“Probably one of the best things about this,” they stated, before looking over at Troy, placing a hand on his shoulder. “But the best thing, is what you, and all of us, are doing for Benson,” they said sincerely, and Troy took a deep breath, smiling. “They’re going to love it, trust me.”

“How do you know that?” Troy asked quietly, and Wolf sighed, pushing back the head of their wolf coat to reveal a small floral pin holding back their hair.

“If a gift comes from the heart, the person you’re giving it to will love it forever,” Wolf said, smiling wistfully. “Even someone who has never received a gift before.”

Troy smiled, pulling Wolf in for a tight hug, one that caught them off-guard. But eventually, they laughed, returning the hug.

“Thank you Wolf,” Troy whispered, and Wolf pulled away, shoving their shoulder lightly.

“Anytime, burrow boy,” she said, and Troy rolled his eyes, walking ahead where the others were waiting for them.

“Come on guys,” Asher called out, smirking. “We don’t have forever to get back to the rest of the group.”

Troy rolled his eyes, looking over at Asher. “Well then, I guess we’re just gonna have to race!” he yelled, before taking off ahead of the others, and Asher gasped loudly, running after him.

“Oh no you don’t!” they screamed, and Troy laughed loudly, running over the fallen rubble and overgrown vines.

Wolf, Kipo and Dave just walked behind them, shoulders shaking with laughter at the antics of the other two. Dave sighed, looking over at the two people net to him.

“First timers to the surface,” he tutted, and Wolf smirked.

“Totally out of control,” they mused, looking over at Kipo, who had her arms crossed over her chest.

“They’ll grow out of it,” she muttered seriously, before the three of them burst out into laughter, continuing on the way home.

*

“Okay, I know I’m not a weakling,” Benson huffed out, dropping the last tire into place. “But if I need to lift anything else, my arms will literally fall off.”

Dahlia, who was painting the last spot on the teacups, let out a loud but tired laugh. “You’re not wrong there,” she muttered, wiping her forehead. But just then, she heard some commotion and looked up curiously, before dropping her paintbrush with a loud cry of happiness.

“They’re back!” she yelled, and Benson looked up in confusion, before his frown melted into a smile, seeing Amy and Brad’s van pull bac in, and seeing Kipo, Wolf, Dave, Asher and Troy walk out of the van.

Dahlia’s shout had also attracted Lio and Roberto’s attention, who also looked at each other happily before running over to them. Benson smiled happily, but was still wary, many questions about their suspicious ‘scouting mission’ coming back up in their mind.

Asher saw Dahlia, and smiled at Kipo, before shouting excitedly, running over to give their sister the biggest possible hug. Kipo ran over to her dad, giving him the tightest hug she could, Troy doing the same with his father, who also ruffled their hair. Lio opened his arms out to Wolf and Dave, who also ran up to him excitedly, giving him the biggest possible hug. By then, Benson had made their way to the group, smiling at the group.

“BENSON!” Dave yelled loudly, running over immediately to jump up and hug Benson, and they couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh, returning the hug with equal vigour. As he looked up, Kipo and Wolf were also looking at him excitedly, Kipo jumping up and down in anticipation.

“Oh just get over here already, you two!” Benson said with a laugh, and Wolf and Kipo looked at each other before running up to pull Benson and Dave into a group hug. Even Mandu had jumped up into Kipo’s arms, squealing in content at their return.

“You guys are okay, right?” Roberto asked worriedly, and Troy laughed, nodding.

“We had some, interesting incidents,” he said with a smirk, and Asher let out a snort, covering their mouth in embarrassment. Kipo looked over, giggling softly, and Asher smiled bashfully. Troy just rolled his eyes at this, before looking back at his dad. “But, we’re all okay, no one’s hurt!”

“I’m just glad you kids held your own out there,” Lio said happily, kissing the top of Kipo’s head. “I knew you could do it.”

“So,” Benson said, stepping back, crossing their arms. “How was the scouting?” they asked, and everyone stiffened, looking at each other. “Find anything useful?”

There was an uncomfortable silence, before Kipo sighed, looking at everyone, who nodded at her as she stepped forward. “Actually, we weren’t scouting,” she said, and Benson snapped their fingers, pointing at them.

“I knew it!” he exclaimed, and narrowed their eyes. “So what were you guys really doing?”

“Well, we will let Troy explain it!” Wolf exclaimed, and Dave and them pulled Roberto away.

“So Roberto tell us about this new Ratland will you,” Dave started to talk as he and Wolf dragged him in the opposite direction.

Kipo and Asher, on the other hand, grabbed Lio and Dahlia, pulling them the other way. “Okay, we anyway have something to say to you,” she said quickly, and Asher giggled softly, squeezing Kipo’s hand, and Dahlia gasped loudly.

“Are you serious?!” she gasped loudly. “I missed that?”

As the others dispersed, Troy grabbed Benson’s hand, an action that made the two of them look up in surprise, their cheeks flushed, and Benson laughed nervously. But Troy just smiled, pulling him to a bench that overlooked the jungle below Ratland.

“So, hat were you guys doing that was so special?” Benson asked again, this time more nervous, playing with their hands as they sat on the bench next to Troy.

Troy looked up, gulping nervously. “So,” he started, looking down at the ground, pulling at the backpack he had. “Ever since Scarlemagne’s coronation, I’ve noticed, you’ve been quieter. Sadder almost,” he said, and Benson sighed, looking away, realising he hadn’t been as slick as he had thought. “I mentioned it to Dave and the others one night, and Dave said it was because you had lost your backpack with your music player, and your tapes, in the gold that day.”

Benson scoffed, nodding slowly. “Yeah,” they whispered softly, and Troy looked over at them. “y parents had given me that. It was the last gift they’d given me before,” they trailed off, drawing a shaky breath.

“I couldn’t see you not be yourself,” Troy whispered, pulling the backpack onto his lap. “And neither could any of the others. You don’t deserve to feel that way Benson,” they said, opening the zip. “So, that’s why we went on that trip.”

Troy pulled out the paper bag, and held it out to Benson, and Benson looked at it curiously, before looking back at Troy, who was smiling fondly at him. “We had to find you your beat again,” he said with a small laugh.

Benson reached out and grabbed the package. As he opened the packet, he gasped loudly, tears standing still in their eyes as he pulled out the Walkman, looking at it like it was something delicate. He looked up at Troy, trying to find words to say, but he was rendered completely speechless, and troy just giggled, pointing to the bag.

“There’s more,” he whispered, and Benson looked into the bag, letting out a startled laugh as he pulled out the tapes.

“No way,” he whispered, overwhelmed with emotion as he looked over the names of the tapes, laughing and smiling at every one. But the last two are the ones he held up, laughing as he looked at Troy, who was also holding back tears seeing the way Benson was tearing up in happiness.

“Oz the Originator,” they whispered, and Troy smiled, nodding.

“Those were the last ones we found,” he added, smiling. “So? Do you like it?”

All of a sudden. Troy was knocked back as Benson jumped onto them, hugging him with all he had. Troy sighed in relief, returning the ug with just as much emotion. The two just held each other for a long time, everything unsaid between them exchanged through that hug.

“I can’t believe you all did this for me,” he whispered, pulling away, cupping Troy’s cheek with his hand. “Thank you Troy,” he said with so much sincerity that Troy felt breathless for a moment.

“It’s what you deserve Benson,” he said with a bright smile. “No need to thank me.”

Benson smiled, leaning forward to press a kiss to Troy’s cheek, eyes crinkled in happiness. “Yes, I do,” he said softly, and Troy’s who’s cheeks were aflame, smiled giddily, looking at Benson fondly.

Benson smirked, putting in the Oz the Originator tape, connecting the earphones to the Walkman. “We owed each other a date, right?” he said with quiet confidence.

Troy’s eyes widened, and he let out a startled laugh, nodding slowly. “I believe, that was something that was said.”

Benson smiled, putting in one of the earphones, holding out the other to Troy. “Well, I’m cashing that in right now,” he said with a laugh, looking at Troy. “Wanna test out this new player with me, Troy?”

Troy laughed, looking down at the earphone, scooting closer to Benson. He reached out, placing his hand over Benson’s, putting in the earphone. Over on the other side of the park, Lio was hugging Asher, welcoming them to the ‘family’, as Dahlia and Kipo hugged each other and screamed because _finally._ Wolf, Dave and Roberto were riding the spinning teacups, Dave clutching onto Roberto in fear, but all of them still having all the fun possible. Troy looked back at the rest of the park before turning back to Benson, smiling brightly.

“I would love to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND SCENE!  
> thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and supporting this fic, it has been an absolute BLAST to write it! i love kipo and the age of wonderbeasts so much and i am so glad i wrote this fic.  
> hope you all loved it as much as i have! I'll be writing more for kipo soon, but for now, goodbye!  
> for the last time, KUDOS/COMMENTS ARE SUPER APPRECIATED  
> tumblr: thirteen-beaxhes  
> twitter: ghostboyfs

**Author's Note:**

> kudos/comments super appreciated!  
> chp 2 will be posted in a couple days!  
> tumblr: thirteen-beaxhes  
> twitter: ghostboyfs


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